Headwear



July 1, 1969 L. M. LAII\IGSTON 3,452,364

HEADWEAR Filed Nov. 23. 1966 INVENTOR. 1 7/: M. [AA/6570M United States Patent 3,452,364 HEADWEAR Lottie M. Langston, 28 Ellers St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213 Filed Nov. 23, 1966, Ser. No. 596,495 Int. Cl. A42b 1/02, 1/04 U.S. Cl. 2-198 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to headwear. More particularly, this invention pertains to a hat intended to be worn by women as a protective covering for the coiifure or other headwear.

In the prior art there has occurred numerous designs for headwear, both protective and ornamental. In most instances, that which was protective in nature was lacking in pleasant or flattering appearance and, conversely, that which presented a pleasant or flattering appearance lacked protective character. Virtually none of the prior art was adapted for wear over other head covering and to comprise protection therefor as well as a pleasant appearance.

Recently, it has become customary for women to style their hair in rather bulky fashion, in proportion much larger than the head, and it is necessary that any protective covering for such hair style not be rigid or even semi-rigid, as in the case of most of the prior art. Purther it is important that any such protective headwear be easily and conveniently carried by the potential user, so as to be readily and conveniently available for use when the occasion arises.

Much of the protective head covering in prior use in the art has failed to provide for any ventilation or passage of air therethrough. This inadequacy made such headwear undesirable because the periods when same would ordinarily be worn were occasions of extremely high atmospheric humidity and great discomfort resulted to the wearer.

I have discovered that, through the unique arrangement of a porous fabric and strips of non-porous plastic or coated fabric, I am able to produce a protective head covering which not only possesses enhanced utility but, also, presents a pleasant and flattering appearance. The hat which I have invented is flexibly foldable and may even be crumpled without damage. Even though water repellant, my headwear permits the free passage of air and provides ventilation for the head of the wearer. It is capable of use over unusually large hair arrangements or other head coverings without presenting an awkward or objectionable appearance.

I provide a base or crown of woven porous fabric made from cotton or any of the other organic or synthetic materials used for weaving fabric or cloth. The said base or crown is fabricated into the basic shape of a cone, though, because of its soft and flexible character, it is not capable of supporting itself in that form. I then attach overlapping strips of non-porous plastic or coated fabric Which is water repellant to the outside of the said base or crown. The said overlapping strips each com- 3,452,364. Patented July 1, 1969 pletely encircle the base or crown and are attached thereto by stitching or adhesively fastening the upper edge of each strip to the base or crown at a point upwardly disposed thereon from the overhanging or overlapping lower edge of the next above adjacent strip. The said overlapping strips also overlap at each of their respective ends as they complete the encirclement of the said base or crown although the said overlapping ends need not be fastened to the fabric of said base or crown.

In another embodiment of my invention the outer covering of the said base or crown is not comprised in a plurality of encircling overlapping strips but, rather, is comprised in a single strip which is adapted to encircle the said conical base or crown at the open end thereof and then progress from said singular encirclement to a spiral or conical helicaloid encirclement of said base or crown and continuing to termination at the apex of said cone form. In this embodiment, of course, each spiraling turn of the said strip slightly overlaps the next lower adjacent turn of the said strip and is continuously stitched or adhesively fastened to the said crown or base at the upwardly disposed edge of the said strip.

One object of my invention is to provide an article of headwear which is both conveniently protective and pleasant in appearance. Another object of my invention is to provide an article of headwear which is flexibly constructed and can be folded or crumpled so as to be conveniently carried by the potential wearer for ready availability upon the occasion for use. A further object of my invention is to provide an article of protective headwear which permits free movement of air therethrough and ventilation around the head of the wearer. Additional objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the specification and claims.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of my preferred embodiment of my article of headwear.

FIG. II is a cross-sectional view of my article of headwear taken in the plane of section line IIII of FIG. I.

FIG. III is a plan view of another embodiment of my article of headwear showing the strip covering in spiral or conical helicaloid form.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the woven fabric or cloth base or crown fabricated into the form of a cone and having a plurality of encircling strips 2 attached thereto only at the upwardly disposed edge of said strips 2. The attachment of the said strips 2 at their upper edge is accomplished by stitching or adhesively fastening the said edge to the said base or crown. Tie strips 3 are engaged at one end to the base or crown 1 at substantially oppositely disposed points on the open end of said base cone and are adapted for related connection by the user to secure the said headwear on the users head. The numeral 4 indicates a seam in the fabric of base or crown 1 and the numeral 5 indicates the overlapping end of each encircling strip 2, the magnitude of such overlap being in the nature of one-half /2) inch to one (1) inch. The numeral 6 indicates the spiral or conical helicaloid strip of outer covering employed in one embodiment of my invention.

I have found that the most preferable material for forming my base or crown is a light weight cotton broadcloth or muslin but I have also used a reticulated net material. The covering strips or strip, as the case may be, have been most successfully cut from soft plastic of the vinyl or polystyrene group but can be fabricated readily from the various water-repellant and coated fabrics. For enhanced appearance, I have also provided the said covering strips in various colors and have also provided the base or crown in colored fabric with transparent or translucent covering strips.

It has been my experience that, for the best combination of air circulation and protection, the desirable overlap of adjacent edges of the covering strip or strips is in the nature of one-half /2) inch to one (1) inch. I have also observed that the most feasible overall size of my headwear is a diameter of ten inches to fourteen (14) inches for the open end of the said cone base or crown. It is necessary that the encircling strips of nonporous material, at the line of attachment to the conical base or crown, be gathered or shirred, in order to conform to the cone shape. This produces a ruffled effect in the encircling strips which presents a pleasant and ornamental appearance. I have found that the most adaptable and usable width for my encircling strips is in the nature of one (1) inch to three (3) inches.

I claim as my invention:

1. An article of headwear comprising a cone-shaped base of flexible porous material, a plurality of strips of flexible non-porous material encircling the outer surface of said base or crown, one said encircling strip having its lower edge disposed in a plane approximately below and in substantially parallel relation with the plane of the open end edge of the said cone and its upper edge in attached engagement with the outer surface of said coneshaped base, the other said encircling strips being upwardly disposed from the first said encircling strip in partially over-lapping stacked relation and each having its upper edge in attached engagement with the outer surface of the said cone and its lower edge disposed proximately below the upper edge of the next lower adjacent strip in partially overlapping relation thereto, and two tie strips of flexible material each having one end attachedly engaging the said base at substantially oppositely disposed points on the open end thereof and depending therefrom, said tie strips being adapted for related con- .4 nection with each other to secure the said headwear on the users head.

2. An article of headwear comprising a crown of flexible porous material in the shape of a cone, at least one strip of flexible non-porous material arranged in partially attached engagement with the outer surface of said crown, said arrangement being such that the said strip of non-porous material completes one encirclement of the said cone form with the lower edge of said strip disposed proximately below and in substantially parallel relation with the open end of said cone and continues from said first encirclement to follow the form of said cone in a spiral or conical helicaloid form to its apex, each turn of the said strip around the cone form having its upper edge in attached engagement with the outer surface of the said cone and its lower edge disposed proximately below the upper edge of the next lower adjacent turn in partially overlapping relation thereto, and two tie strips of flexible material each having one end attachedly engaging the said crown at substantially oppositely disposed points on the open end thereof and depending therefrom, said tie strips being adapted for related connection with each other to secure the said headwear on the users head.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 121,668 12/ 1871 Scrymgeour 2--193 660,529 10/ 1900 Johnson 2-193 940,062 1 1/ 1909 Rash 2-209.5 2,673,350 3/ 1954 Chuck 2177 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE H. KRIZMANICH. Assistant Examiner. 

